Illusion
by unitylove
Summary: A quick story looking at Ace's time in Impel Down and what goes on in his mind while he's there.


**AN: I got the inspiration for this story from a doujin my friend brought back from Japan. The title is in Japanese as well as the author's name but the art was just beautiful. After 'reading' the doujin, I got the ideas for this angsty Ace fic. Enjoy! :)**

**Warnings: Some minor violence and Ace in Impel T-T**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its amazing characters.**

_I won't break. I won't let them change me. I won't give up my life of freedom. I have no regrets._

The cell is cold. The air is cold. Everything is cold. Everything is cold ever since they chained my hands. The sounds are soft and yet they too have the power to drain the heat from the room. Cries for help, gentle sobs, small scratches against rock and the pacing of armed men. These are the sounds surrounding us all and they make up the silence in which we now live. My own voice was one of them but no longer. Long since have I learned to keep quiet. There is no good to come from using one's voice. The man to my left has learned this as well.

_I won't break. I won't let them change me. I have no regrets._

The eerie silence that I've grown to enjoy is broken. The crack breaks through the quiet and a harsh cry is released. This is my voice. This is what my voice sounds like. The voice sounds pained and frail. Another crack and another cry. The blood makes a pattern on the cold ground. The heavy chains weigh everything down. I am not used to feeling pain. My fire once protected me. But the cold surrounds us and our powers are drained.

_I won't break. I won't let them change me. I have no regrets._

How long has it been? Surely more than a week. The man on my left remains muted. I strain to hear more of the beautiful silence. It is yet again interrupted. This time no pain ensues. Only tears. Tears as I listen to the woman outside the bars. She tells me lies and my brain believes them. None of this can be true… And yet I know it to be reality. I then realize that I lied to myself; every single word caused more pain than any prior punishment.

_I won't break. I have no regrets._

I see him in front of me. I know he's an illusion. I know he's not inside my bars. I know the man to my left cannot see him. But I smile and try to be brave for my hallucination. I do not want him to be afraid for me. My task is to protect him. I scold him for coming, I scold him for being reckless, I scold him for not living his own adventure. He simply begins to cry and comes to sit on my lap. He wraps his arms around me. He has not said a word. My hands are suspended above my head by the cold chains so I cannot return the gesture but I kiss him lightly. He understands. The man to my left watches, he seems troubled. I hide my face in my illusion's hair and begin to sob, adding to the beautiful silence that fills my world.

_I won't break. I have no regrets._

I wake to a gruff sounding voice to my left. He finally speaks. What he says only confuses me but I nod and pretend to listen. When he is done he appears concerned. I then notice the blood running down my face. The wounds have reopened. Was I thrashing in my sleep? Was I ever actually sleeping? Am I awake? I try to ask the man to my left but my voice fails me. The armed man outside our bars looks in briefly. We have disturbed his silence.

_I won't break. I have no regrets._

The illusion returns. This time he is outside my bars. He is covered in poison and he is dead, his motionless body lying flat against the cold ground. Although my brain screams for me to remain calm, my body acts of its own volition. I thrash against my chains and scream for my fantasy to wake up. He doesn't move. A mix of blood and tears finds its way down my face, as I taste it against my lips. The man to my left ignores my outcries. I am disturbing his silence. As I stare at the dead body, I turn to the man on my left. I beg him to protect my fantasy. I beg him to watch over my now dead hallucination. I know that I won't be able to save him. But there are others who can. The man on my left explains that he will not save someone unless they prove themselves to be worthy. I begin to cry for there is no one more worthy than he.

_I have no regrets._

The chains move and I'm brought to my aching feet. My legs are numb as I slowly follow the armed men. The time has finally come. The silence is no more and the misery will be over soon. I look back at my bars, feeling almost sentimental. The man to my left is watching, sadness and worry written on his beaten face. His cell will be serene without my delusions. But before the armed men begin leading me up the stairs, he calls out to me. "I will protect him." I can feel the tears falling down my face. I nod to the man on my left, acknowledging that I've heard him. I am relieved that my illusion will have someone to watch over him and yet I am disheartened by the fact that I will never see either of them again.

_._

As I sit in chains on the ship that will bring me to my death, I look up at the sky. The light blinds me but I cannot look away. There are so many things I still want to see and there are so many people I still want to thank. Mostly him. My precious illusion that kept me company in the beautiful silence that was my world. I tear my eyes away from the sunlit sky and he is here. He isn't his usual self. His eyes are blank and he stares at me desperately. I want to cry out. I want to console him. I want to protect him as I've always tried to. But he just stands there and I remain tethered by the cold chains. "Don't give up, I'm coming for you." I hear him say. She told me similar lies, the woman outside my bars. I shake my head; my illusion is lying to me just as she did. I don't want you to come. Stay away and live your own life. He doesn't say anything else. Instead he stands beside me, his hand in mine as we both stare at the sky.

_Thank you for loving me._


End file.
